Eric Goska column: Big 4-0 has been good to Brett Favre

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Fans sit atop the garage and storage shed at the northwest corner of old City Stadium during the Packers? 14-10 loss to the Chicago Cardinals at old City Stadium on Oct. 12, 1947. Even though ?they weren?t the best seats in the stadium,? the roof was filled well before the 2 p.m. kickoff. The building is the last remaining portion of old City Stadium. To see a video on old City Stadium, go to www.packersnews.com. This photo is from the Press-Gazette's forthcoming book, "Titletown's Team: A Photographic History of the Green Bay Packers," due out in mid-November. Information: www.titletownbook.com. Press-Gazette archives

If you're Brett Favre it is. Less than a month after turning the Big 4-0, the quarterback is playing like he's 10 years younger.

At an age when most players are well into a career in broadcasting or coaching or some other endeavor, Favre remains a force on the field. If the number of years one has spent on this earth is just a number, Favre certainly is not acting his age.

Consider how few 40-year-olds have played in the NFL. Most fans can generate a short list: George Blanda, Warren Moon, Morten Andersen, Jerry Rice and then maybe a few more quarterbacks and kickers.

After that, it doesn't take long for the roster to peter out. With thousands having played this game, roll call for those in their fifth decade is brief.

Favre is the exception, his play exceptional. In leading the Vikings to a 6-1 record, he's compiled a passer rating of 102.2.

He's completed 158 of 229 passes for 1,681 yards, 12 touchdowns and has been intercepted three times. What stands out is his high completion percentage (69.0) and low interception rate (1.31 percent).

Before this season, seven players had thrown 100 or more passes in a season in which they turned 40 or one in which they were older. Some, like Moon or Vinny Testaverde did it more than once.

Len Dawson comes closest to matching Favre's completion rate. He was successful on 66.4 percent of his throws in his 19th and final season in 1975. Testaverde was intercepted just twice in 198 throws (1.0 percent) while with the Jets in 2003, his 17th season as a pro.

Until Favre came along, Sonny Jurgensen was the best over-the-hill quarterback, based on passer rating. He of the protruding belly won a number of games as a backup, compiled a rating of 94.5 and helped Washington (10-4) to a wild-card berth in 1974.

Favre is in a different league. He's earned a passer rating of better than 100 points four times this season. In a 33-31 win over the Ravens, he completed 21 of 29 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns for a season-high passing mark of 136.9. That broke Moon's single-game record of 133.7 for the over-40 crowd.

Rather than compare Favre to the Greybeard Greats of the Gridiron, how does he stack up against himself? Overall, he's never been better.

Take a look at the first seven games from any of his past 18 campaigns. Only in 1996 (101.9) and 2002 (102.0) did he come close to matching his current passer rating. He never opened with a higher completion percentage, and his interception rate was lower only in 2002 (1.29).

Yes, there were a quite a number of years in which he attempted more passes and threw for more yards and touchdowns. But only in 1996, 2002 and 2007 could he boast a 6-1 record.

Favre has won 175 regular-season games as a starter. Two of those victories came after he turned 40. He needs just six more wins to break Moon's single-season record for a 40-year-old (seven wins), which Moon set in 1997 with the Seahawks.